It has been years since the United States has had good intelligence on the whereabouts of Al Qaeda leader Osama bin laden, although he is thought to be in Pakistan, CIA director Leon Panetta said on Sunday.

He also gave a sobering account of the war in Afghanistan, saying the Taliban seemed to be strengthening with a stepped-up campaign of violence, even as U.S.-led forces undermine the Islamist movement with attacks on its leadership.

Progress is being made in the nearly nine-year-old conflict but “it’s harder, it’s slower than I think anyone anticipated,” Panetta said on ABC’s “This Week” program. He did not directly answer a question about whether the war was being won.

It Should be obvious by now that Bin Laden is NOT being hunted by Gates or other top officials. The name Bin Laden has served it’s purpose: War, Occupation, Hegemony, Resources, Profits, Control and Restricted Civil Liberties.

Even if Bin Laden isn’t a full fledged CIA agent (here, here) , there is plenty of evidence that says he is dead. (here, here, here) -Brian

Defense Secretary Robert Gates told me that the U.S. has not had any good intelligence on the whereabouts of Osama bin Laden in “years.”

He also couldn’t confirm reports that a detainee in Pakistan had claimed that he had information on where bin Laden was earlier this year. He made the startling admission during my interview with him for “This Week” airing Sunday.

GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: “The Pakistani Prime Minister shrugged off any concerns about that this week, about whether or not he’d done enough to go after Osama bin Laden. He said he doesn’t believe Osama is in Pakistan. Is he right and do you think the Pakistanis have done enough to get him?”

WASHINGTON — Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Defense Secretary Robert Gates, in a rare joint interview, said Monday that the United States is committed to a regional strategy to build long-standing relations with Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Gates made clear that no matter what Obama decides on immediate troop levels, the United States will remain in Afghanistan to continue efforts to dismantle terrorist organizations and help with economic development and nation building.

The Empire State building was lit up in NYC to celebrate China’s Total Control Syndrome. We’ll call it TCS from here on…The police in America recently showed a display of force to its citizens in Pittsburgh, which hosted the G-20 summit. The article below mentions people miles away from China’s big parade being told to “go home, watch it from your television.” If you have not yet seen videos from the G-20summit in Pittsburgh, please do. -ed

BEIJING (Reuters) – China celebrated its wealth and rising might with a show of goose-stepping troops, gaudy floats and nuclear-capable missiles in Beijing on Thursday, 60 years after Mao Zedong proclaimed its embrace of communism.

Tiananmen Square in central Beijing became a high-tech stage to celebrate the birth of the People’s Republic of China on October 1, 1949, with the Communist Party leadership and guests watching a meticulously disciplined show of national confidence.

Celebrations began in the morning with troops firing cannons and raising the red national flag while President Hu Jintao, wearing a slate grey “Mao” suit, looked on from the Gate of Heavenly Peace over the Square.

The two-hour parade of 8,000 soldiers, tanks and missiles, 60 elaborate floats and 100,000 well-drilled civilians was a proud moment for many Chinese citizens, watching the spectacle across the country on television. Later in the evening, Tiananmen Square will be lit up with a huge fireworks display.